Systems, methods and devices for radio access technology coordination

ABSTRACT

User equipment and base stations can enable access to secondary radio access technology (S-RAT), a cross radio access technology (RAT) scheduling between a primary RAT (P-RAT) and a secondary RAT (S-RAT) and/or cross-scheduling in a same RAT with different optimizations and use/partition for different applications (e.g., a regular partition with a carrier resource (referred to as P-RAT) and an additional resource partition/region for device-to-device (D2D) or machine-type-communication (MTC) application (referred to as S-RAT)). Cross-RAT/partition-scheduling can include when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT or when P-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/542,032, filed Jul. 6, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,405,331, issuedSep. 3, 2019, which is a national phase application of InternationalPatent Application No. PCT/US2015/051171, filed Sep. 21, 2015, whichclaims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/121,118, filed Feb. 26, 2015, each of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless device communication systemsand more specifically relates to radio access technology coordinationbetween multiple radio access technologies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating radio access technologycoordination system consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating radio access technology multiplexingconsistent with embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a subframe structure for a secondary radio accesstechnology consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a subframe structure for a secondary radio accesstechnology using unique word (UW) discrete Fourier transform (DFT)spread orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) (UW-DFT-s-OFDM)consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a search window for downlink synchronizationsignal in secondary radio access technologies consistent withembodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of downlink (DL) hybrid automatic repeat request(HARQ) timing for cross-radio access technology (RAT) scheduling formultiple user equipments (UEs) consistent with embodiments disclosedherein.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of downlink DL HARQ timing for cross-RAT schedulingfor multiple flexible access technology (FAT) physical downlink sharechannel (PDSCH) (F-PDSCHs) for a single user equipment (UE) consistentwith embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of DL HARQ timing for cross-RAT schedulingtransmission time interval (TTI) for multiple UEs consistent withembodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of uplink (UL) HARQ timing for cross-RAT schedulingfor multiple UEs consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of DL HARQ timing for cross-RAT scheduling when aprimary RAT (P-RAT) is scheduled by a secondary RAT (S-RAT) consistentwith embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of UL HARQ timing for cross-RAT scheduling whenP-RAT is scheduled by an S-RAT consistent with embodiments disclosedherein.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method of radio access technologycoordination consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of example components of a user equipment (UE)device consistent with embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of computing system consistent withembodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A detailed description of systems and methods consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure is provided below. While severalembodiments are described, it should be understood that the disclosureis not limited to any one embodiment, but instead encompasses numerousalternatives, modifications, and equivalents. In addition, whilenumerous specific details are set forth in the following description inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosedherein, some embodiments can be practiced without some or all of thesedetails. Moreover, for the purpose of clarity, certain technicalmaterial that is known in the related art has not been described indetail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure.

Techniques, apparatus and methods are disclosed that enable access tosecondary radio access technology (S-RAT), a cross radio accesstechnology (RAT) scheduling between a primary RAT (P-RAT) and asecondary RAT (S-RAT) and/or cross-scheduling in a same RAT withdifferent optimizations and use/partition for different applications(e.g., a regular partition with a carrier resource (referred to asP-RAT) and an additional resource partition/region for device-to-device(D2D) or machine-type-communication (MTC) application (referred to asS-RAT)). Cross-scheduling can include when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RATor when P-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT.

In an access example, a UE acquires the downlink time and frequencysynchronization to a P-RAT by detecting synchronization signals, e.g.,PSS/SSS from P-RAT and then decodes the master information block (MIB)from physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and system information block(SIBs). After successful decoding of MIB or SIB on P-RAT, the UE obtainssystem information for access to S-RAT at least including the resourceconfiguration in time and frequency (e.g., DL bandwidth, antennaconfiguration information, multicast-broadcast single-frequency network(MBSFN) configuration, frame structure configuration, absoluteradio-frequency channel number (ARFCN) value to indicate the frequencyof S-RAT etc.), and/or numerology, and configuration of downlinksynchronization signal. The UE detects downlink synchronization signalin S-RAT within a search window which size is either fixed or configuredby higher layers and then communicates with S-RAT.

In a scheduling example, when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT, two optionscan be considered for the DL cross-RAT scheduling: Cross-RAT schedulingor Cross-RAT-TTI scheduling. For cross-RAT scheduling, flexible accesstechnology (FAT) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (F-PDSCH) onS-RAT is transmitted within the same transmission time interval (TTI)when FAT physical downlink control channel (F-PDCCH) is transmitted onP-RAT. For cross-RAT-TTI scheduling, F-PDSCH on S-RAT is transmitted KP-TTI after F-PDCCH is transmitted on P-RAT.

In yet another example, cross-RAT or cross-RAT-TTI scheduling can applyin the case when P-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT.

Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards andprotocols to transmit data between a base station and a wireless mobiledevice. Wireless communication system standards and protocols caninclude the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long termevolution (LTE); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 802.16 standard, which is commonly known to industry groups asworldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX); and the IEEE802.11 standard, which is commonly known to industry groups as Wi-Fi. In3GPP radio access networks (RANs) in LTE systems, the base station caninclude Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)Node Bs (also commonly denoted as evolved Node Bs, enhanced Node Bs,eNodeBs, or eNBs) and/or Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) in an E-UTRAN,which communicate with a wireless communication device, known as userequipment (UE).

Mobile communication has evolved significantly from early voice systemsto today's integrated communication platform. 4G LTE networks aredeployed in more than 100 countries to provide service in variousspectrum band allocations depending on spectrum regime.

A next generation wireless communication system, fifth generation or 5G,can be constructed with a goal to enable access to information andsharing of data anywhere, anytime by various users and applications. 5Gcan be configured to be a unified network/system configured to meetdifferent and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services.Diverse multi-dimensional requirements can be driven by differentservices and applications.

A wide range of requirements, applications and services may be desirablein a 5G system. More specifically, higher data rates can be a key driverin network development and evolution for a 5G system. It is envisioned apeak data rate of more than 10 Gbps and a minimum guaranteed user datarate of at least 100 Mbps can be supported in a 5G system. In addition,support of a large number of Internet of Things (IoT) or Machine-TypeCommunication (MTC) devices can also feature in design of a 5G system.MTC devices used for many applications can be designed for lowoperational power consumption and can be designed to communicate withinfrequent small burst transmissions.

In one embodiment, support of mission critical MTC applications for 5Gsystem can be designed with extremely high level of reliableconnectivity with guaranteed low latency, availability andreliability-of-service attributes.

Due to the conflicting requirements, and unlike the existing 2G, 3G and4G, 5G can be configured to be more than one RAT. For instance, in orderto cope with global mobile traffic expansion, higher frequency bands canbe used where spectrum is available. The use of millimeter wave (mmWave)frequency bands ranging from 30 GHz to 300 GHz can provide scalability,capacity and density for a 5G system. In some embodiments, a new RAT maybe defined for the mmWave band in order to achieve low latency andhigher peak data rate.

Multi-RAT coordination for a 5G systems can include a procedure for 5GUEs to access to the secondary RAT (S-RAT), cross-RAT schedulingmechanisms in the case when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT and cross-RATscheduling mechanisms in the case when P-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT.

It should be noted that most examples use a frequency division duplex(FDD) design to easily illustrate the design concepts and principles.However, it is straightforward to extend the proposed design to a timedivision duplex (TDD) system with relevant modifications, includingcorresponding TDD frame structure, DL/UL switching, etc.

Abbreviations

RAT represents a Radio Access Technology.

A P-RAT represents a Primary RAT.

An S-RAT represents a Secondary RAT.

TTI represents a transmission time interval.

S-TTI represents an S-RAT TTI.

P-TTI represents a P-RAT TTI.

FAT represents a Flexible Access Technology (FAT). FAT is a 5G flexibleair interface access technology enabling support of multipleRATs/sub-RATs/partitions with a same or different numerologiesmultiplexed in a Time-division multiplexing (TDM) or Frequency-divisionmultiplexing (FDM), code-division multiplex (CDM), spatial divisionmultiplex (SDM) or a combination of above options and other possibleorthogonal or non-orthogonal multiplexing

F-PDCCH represents a FAT physical downlink control channel (F-PDCCH)which is the PDCCH channel used in a 5G air interface.

F-PDSCH represents a FAT physical downlink shared channel (F-PDSCH)which is the PDSCH channel used in a 5G air interface.

F-PUCCH represents a FAT physical uplink control channel (F-PUCCH) whichis the PUCCH channel used in a 5G air interface.

F-PUSCH represents a FAT physical uplink shared channel (F-PUSCH) whichis the PUSCH channel used in a 5G air interface.

F-PHICH represents a FAT physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel (F-PHICH)which is the PHICH channel used in a 5G air interface.

FIG. 1 shows a system 100 for radio access technology coordination.Multiple UEs 102 can connect to a physical infrastructure 104 (such aseNBs, cell towers, network access points, etc.) over a P-RAT 112. Thephysical infrastructure 104 can receive or send wireless transmissionsfrom or to the UEs 102. Based on the transmissions, the physicalinfrastructure 104 can provide access to a network infrastructure 116.

The physical infrastructure 104 can also support an S-RAT 114, which isscheduled over the P-RAT 112. An MCE 106 can transition from a low-powerstate to an active state. The MCE 106 can determine schedulinginformation for the S-RAT 114 from configuration transmissions over theP-RAT 112. Using this configuration information, the MCE 106 cantransmit or receive information over the S-RAT 114.

The P-RAT 112 and S-RAT 114 can be optimized for different attributes.In one embodiment, the P-RAT 112 is optimized for high-throughput andthe S-RAT 114 is optimized for battery conserving transmissions (e.g.,low power transmissions, infrequent transmissions, etc.). Theseoptimizations enable a unified network/system 100 configured to meetdifferent and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services.

FIG. 2 shows multiplexing of multiple RATs. Multiple RATs, sub-RATs orpartitions with same or different numerologies can be multiplexed intime division multiplexing (TDM) 201, frequency division multiplexing(FDM) 200, code division multiplexing (CDM), or space divisionmultiplexing (SDM), or a combination of above options and other possibleorthogonal or non-orthogonal multiplexing. FIG. 1 illustrates themultiplexing of multiple RATs in the FDM 200 and TDM 201 manner. Notethat when multiple RATs are multiplexed in the FDM 200 manner, certainguard bands 204 may need to be inserted at the edge of frequencyresources allocated for the RATs in order to minimize the inter-RATinterference.

In FIG. 2, a primary RAT (P-RAT) 206 normally operates at a lowersampling rate in order to save UE power consumption, while a secondaryRAT (S-RAT) 202 or 208 can operate at a relatively higher sampling rateto support low latency applications, e.g., mission criticalapplications, tactile applications or vehicular to vehicular (V2V)applications.

In other application, the secondary RAT (S-RAT) 202 or 208 can operateat a lower sampling rate to reduce the synchronization requirement ofthe S-RAT 202 or 208, and enable larger number of devices sharing thechannel/RAT or for energy saving.

In other application, the secondary RAT (S-RAT) 202 or 208 may operateat a same sampling rate using same or different waveform(s) from theP-RAT 206 to enable different applications.

Note that the P-RAT 206 and S-RAT 202 or 208 do not strictly imply to bedifferent RATs. They may be based on the same RAT with differentoptimizations and use/partition for different applications, e.g., aregular partition with a carrier resource (referred to also as P-RAT)and an additional resource partition/region for D2D or MTC application(referred to also as S-RAT).

In one example, for carrier frequency below 6 GHz, the P-RAT 206 canreuse the existing LTE numerology, while the S-RAT 202 or 208 can bedesigned to support low latency application. In one option, the S-RAT202 or 208 can also reuse the existing LTE numerology. To support lowlatency application, two to three OFDM symbols can be grouped togetherto achieve about a 0.2 ms sub-transmission time interval (TTI). Inanother option, the S-RAT 202 or 208 can be designed based on a largersubcarrier spacing than the P-RAT 206 subcarrier spacing, e.g., 75 KHz.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a subframe structure 300 for S-RATbased on OFDM waveform. In the figure, 0.1 ms TTI can be achieved, andwithin one TTI, six OFDM symbols 304, 306 and 308 are grouped and cyclicprefix (CP) length 302 is ˜3.3 us or 512 samples if sampling rate is153.6 MHz. Note that the above example can be easily extended to supportother TTIs. For instance, 12 OFDM symbols can be grouped to achieve 0.2ms TTI. In other example, a different subcarrier spacing can be used(e.g., 60 KHz) to achieve a 0.1 ms or 0.2 ms TTI design withcorresponding CP lengths and number of OFDM symbols.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example of a subframe structure 400 for S-RATbased on unique word (UW)-OFDM (UW-OFDM) waveform or UW-Discrete FourierTransform (DFT) spread OFDM (UW-DFTs-OFDM) waveform. In this example,subcarrier spacing is 60 KHz and 12 OFDM symbols 404, 406 and 408 aregrouped to achieve 0.1 ms TTI. In between symbols can be a guardinterval (GI) 402. Note that, the example shown in FIG. 4 can be appliedto other waveforms whose total symbol duration is fixed, i.e., the UW orGI 402 is within the FFT size or for the waveform there is no CPrequired to handle the delay spread in the communication system.

As mentioned above, in some embodiments P-RAT can operate at a lowersampling rate in order to save UE power consumption. In addition, S-RATcan operate as a stand-alone system or non-stand-alone system. In thelatter embodiment, the UE has one RRC connection with the network viaP-RAT. Systems using the S-RAT can rely on the P-RAT to providenecessary information for 5G UEs to access the S-RAT.

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 that shows a small search window 510 fordownlink synchronization in an S-RAT 504. In one embodiment, a procedurefor 5G UEs to access to the S-RAT 504 can be designed as follows: (1) UEacquires the downlink time and frequency synchronization to a P-RAT 502by detecting synchronization signals, e.g., PSS/SSS from the P-RAT 502and then decodes a master information block (MIB) 506 from PBCH andsystem information block (SIB) 506. (2) After successful decoding of theMIB 506 or SIB 506 on the P-RAT 502, UEs obtain the necessary systeminformation for access to the S-RAT 504 at least including the resourceconfiguration in time and frequency (e.g., DL bandwidth, antennaconfiguration information, MBSFN configuration, frame structureconfiguration, ARFCN value to indicate the frequency of the S-RAT 504,etc.), and/or numerology, and configuration of downlink synchronizationsignal, i.e., physical cell identity and/or transmission offset betweenthe P-RAT 502 and S-RAT 504. In another option, the relevant systeminformation of the S-RAT 504 mentioned above can be provided to a UE bya dedicated RRC signaling. (3) The UE detects a downlink synchronizationsignal 508 in the S-RAT 504 within the search window 510, which size iseither fixed or configured by higher layers and then communicates withthe S-RAT 504. The system information obtained from the P-RAT 502,either by SIBs 506 on the P-RAT 502 or by a dedicated RRC signaling, canhelp the UE to access the S-RAT 504 in a more time and energy efficientmanner.

In order to allow seamless coordination between the P-RAT 502 and S-RAT504 and reduce the control channel blockage on the P-RAT 502 or S-RAT504, cross-RAT scheduling can be considered. Note that enablingcross-RAT scheduling can be configured by UE-specific RRC signaling on aper-RAT and per-component-carrier basis. This is primarily due to thefact that different UEs may have different capabilities on the supportof multiple RATs in a 5G system.

In general, depending on whether the P-RAT 502 or S-RAT 504 experiencesstrong interference, two cross-RAT scheduling mechanisms can beconsidered. (1) Cross-RAT scheduling in the case when the S-RAT 504 isscheduled by the P-RAT 502 or (2) Cross-RAT scheduling in the case whenthe P-RAT 502 is scheduled by the S-RAT 504. The detailed design ofthese two cross-RAT scheduling mechanisms is described in the followingsections, respectively. Note that although cross-RAT schedulingmechanisms discussed below are based on the examples when the P-RAT 502has 1 ms TTI and the S-RAT 504 has 0.2 ms TTI as mentioned above, thedesigns can be straightforwardly extended to the other cases of theP-RAT 502 and S-RAT 504 with same or different TTI values.

Cross-RAT Scheduling Mechanisms in the Case When S-RAT is Scheduled byP-RAT

In some embodiments, when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT, two options canbe considered for the DL cross-RAT scheduling. With cross-RATscheduling, F-PDSCH on S-RAT is transmitted within the same TTI whenF-PDCCH is transmitted on P-RAT. With cross-RAT-TTI scheduling, F-PDSCHon S-RAT is transmitted K P-TTI after F-PDCCH is transmitted on P-RAT,i.e., F-PDCCH in P-TTI #n schedules the F-PDSCH in P-TTI #(n+K), whereP-TTI is the TTI for P-RAT, e.g., 1 ms.

To support cross-RAT/cross-partition/cross-carrier or cross-RATcross-partition/cross-carrier/cross-TTI scheduling, the following fieldsmay be included on top of the existing DCI formats for DL assignment anduplink grant: S-RAT index (or partition index), carrier band index forS-RAT and/or TTI index in S-RAT. The S-RAT index (or partition index)can be provided by higher layer via MIB, SIB or UE specific dedicatedRRC signaling. Similarly, carrier band index can be provided by higherlayer via MIB, SIB or UE specific dedicated RRC signaling. This field isused to indicate which subframes in the S-RAT are used for DL or ULtransmission. This can be represented in a form of bit-map. Further, thestarting OFDM symbols in the transmission of F-PDSCH in S-RAT can beconfigured by higher layers, via MIB, SIB or UE specific dedicated RRCsignaling.

DL HARQ for Cross-RAT Scheduling

FIG. 6 illustrates a DL hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing600 for cross-RAT scheduling for multiple UEs for an FDD system using anS-RAT DL 602, a P-RAT DL 604 and a P-RAT UL 606. Note that in thefigure, ACK/NACK feedback 622, 624 is transmitted on F-PUCCH 626 onP-RAT. Further, the gap between F-PDSCH 618, 620 on S-RAT and F-PUCCH626 on P-RAT is L P-TTI. In this case, F-PDCCH 614, 616 transmitted onP-RAT schedules F-PDSCH transmission 618, 620 on S-RAT on P-TTI #n,ACK/NACK feedback 622, 624 is transmitted on F-PUCCH 626 on P-RAT onP-TTI #(n+L). In one example as shown in FIG. 6, L=2. This indicatesthat UE needs to feedback ACK/NACK 2 P-TTIs after receiving the F-PDSCHon S-RAT.

To determine the F-PUCCH resource index on P-RAT for ACK/NACK feedback622, 624, several options can be considered. In one embodiment, theexisting LTE PUCCH resource index determination rule in LTE can bereused, i.e., F-PUCCH resource index is given as a function of the firstCCE in the F-PDCCH 614, 616 used to schedule the downlink transmissionon S-RAT. In particular, the UE shall use n_(PUCCH)⁽¹⁾=n_(CCE)+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾, where n_(CCE) is the number of the first CCE(i.e., lowest CCE index used to construct the F-PDCCH) used fortransmission of the corresponding DCI assignment and N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ isconfigured by higher layers.

In another embodiment, S-TTI index can be included in the determinationof the F-PUCCH resource index, i.e., n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾=f(n_(CCE), N_(PUCCH)⁽¹⁾, I_(S-TTI)). I_(S-TTI) is the S-TTI index. In one example, theF-PUCCH resource index can be determined by n_(PUCCH)⁽¹⁾=n_(CCE)+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾+c₀·I_(S-TTI) where c₀ is a constant, which canbe predefined or configured in a cell-specific manner by higher layers.

In yet another embodiment, S-RAT index can be included in thedetermination of the F-PUCCH resource index, i.e., n_(PUCCH)⁽¹⁾=f(n_(CCE), N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾, I_(S-RAT)) or n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾=f(n_(CCE),N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾, I_(S-TTI), I_(S-RAT)) where I_(S-RAT) is the S-RAT index.In one example, the F-PUCCH resource index can be determined byn_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾=n_(CCE)+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾+c₁·I_(S-RAT) where c₁ is a constant,which can be predefined or configured in a cell-specific manner byhigher layers. Note that this option may help to avoid the F-PUCCHresource collision on P-RAT from multiple UEs when F-PDSCH transmissionfrom other UEs is scheduled on P-RAT and HARQ timing for self-RAT andcross-RAT scheduling is different.

In another embodiment, for an F-PDSCH transmission on the S-RATindicated by the detection of a corresponding F-PDCCH on the P-RAT, theUE shall use F-PUCCH resource n_(PUCCH) ¹) where the value of n_(PUCCH)⁽¹⁾ is determined according to higher layer configuration. Morespecifically, one of fields in DCI format of the corresponding F-PDCCHcan be used to dynamically determine the F-PUCCH resources value fromvalues configured by higher layers with a predefined mapping rule. For aF-PDSCH transmission only on the P-RAT indicated by the detection of acorresponding F-PDCCH on P-RAT, the UE shall use F-PUCCH n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾with n_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾=n_(CCE)+N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ on the P-RAT, where n_(CCE) isthe number of the first CCE (i.e., lowest CCE index used to constructthe F-PDCCH) used for transmission of the corresponding F-PDCCH andN_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾ is configured by higher layers. Note that a single F-PDCCHon P-RAT can be used to schedule multiple F-PDSCH transmissions on S-RATfor single UE.

FIG. 7 illustrates a DL HARQ timing 700 for cross-RAT scheduling withmultiple F-PDSCH transmissions 718, 720 for a single UE for FDD systemusing an S-RAT DL 702, a P-RAT DL 704 and a P-RAT UL 706. In the figure,two F-PDSCH transmissions 718, 720 are shown as an example.

The DL HARQ timing 600 as well as the determination rule of F-PUCCHresource index can be defined similar to the case for multiple UEs. Tofurther reduce the scheduling overhead, a single F-PDCCH 714 can be usedto schedule multiple F-PDSCH transmissions 718, 720 for one UE. Morespecifically, the S-TTI index, resource allocation, modulation andcoding scheme (MCS), HARQ process number and redundancy version (RV) forthe transmission of multiple F-PDSCH transmissions 718, 720 on S-RAT canbe aggregated to form a single F-PDCCH 714.

Similarly, multiple ACK/NACK feedbacks 722 can be aggregated together ona single F-PUCCH transmission 726. In the case when P-RAT reuses theexisting LTE, PUCCH format 1b, 1b with channel selection and format 3can be considered for F-PUCCH transmission 726 depending on the numberof configured component carriers for the transmission of F-PDSCH onS-RAT.

DL HARQ for Cross-RAT-TTI Scheduling

FIG. 8 illustrates a DL HARQ timing 800 for cross-RAT-TTI scheduling formultiple UEs for FDD system using an S-RAT DL 802, a P-RAT DL 804 and aP-RAT UL 806. In particular, F-PDCCH 814, 816 in P-TTI #n schedulesF-PDSCH transmissions 818, 820 in P-TTI #(n+K). Subsequently, ACK/NACKfeedback 822, 824 is transmitted on F-PUCCH 826 on P-RAT on P-TTI#(n+K+L). Note that this scheme may help reduce the IQ buffer size,thereby leading to lower UE cost and complexity.

In the example as shown in FIG. 8, K=1 and L=2. This indicates thatF-PDCCH 814, 816 in P-TTI #n schedules F-PDSCH transmissions 818, 820 inP-TTI #(n+1) and ACK/NACK feedback 822, 824 is transmitted on F-PUCCH826 on P-RAT on P-TTI #(n+3).

Similar to DL HARQ for cross-RAT scheduling, F-PDCCH 814, 816 on P-RATcan also be used to schedule multiple F-PDSCH transmissions 818, 820 onS-RAT for single UE based on cross-RAT-TTI scheduling. In addition, thesame design principle for the determination of F-PUCCH resource indexcan also apply for the cross-RAT-TTI scheduling.

UL HARQ for Cross-RAT Scheduling

FIG. 9 illustrates a UL HARQ timing 900 for cross-RAT scheduling formultiple UEs using an S-RAT UL 902 and a P-RAT DL 904. In particular,the gap between F-PDCCH scheduling 914, 916 on P-RAT and F-PUSCHtransmission 918, 920 on S-RAT is K_0 P-TTI. Subsequently, the gapbetween F-PUSCH transmission 918, 920 on S-RAT and ACK/NACK feedback922, 924 on F-PHICH 926 or F-PDCCH on P-RAT is K_1 P-TTI. In the casefor NACK, the gap between F-PUSCH retransmission 928, 930 and ACK/NACKfeedback is K_0 P-TTI.

In the example as shown in FIG. 9, K_0=K_1=2. This indicates thatF-PUSCH transmissions 918, 920 on S-RAT is transmitted 2 P-TTIs afterP-PDCCH scheduling 914, 916 and ACK/NACK feedback 922, 924 transmittedon F-PHICH 926 on P-RAT is 2 P-TTIs after F-PUSCH transmission 918, 920.

To determine the F-PHICH resource index on P-RAT for ACK/NACK feedback922, 924, several options can be considered as follows. In oneembodiment, the existing PHICH resource index determination rule in LTEcan be reused, i.e., the F-PHICH resource index is derived from thenumber of the first resource block upon which the corresponding uplinkF-PUSCH transmission 918, 920 occurred. In addition, the resources usedfor a particular F-PHICH 926 further depend on the reference-signalphase rotation (cyclic shift for DM-RS associated with the F-PUSCHtransmission 918, 920) signaled as part of the uplink grant. The F-PHICHresource is identified by the index pair (n_(PHICH) ^(group), n_(PHICH)^(seq)) where n_(PHICH) ^(group) is the PHICH group number and n_(PHICH)^(seq) is the orthogonal sequence index within the group as defined by:n _(PHICH) ^(group)=(I _(PRB_RA) +n _(DMRS))modN _(PHICH) ^(group) +I_(PHICH) N _(PHICH) ^(group)n _(PHICH) ^(seq)=(└I _(PRB_RA) /N _(PHICH) ^(group) ┘+n _(DMRS))mod2N_(SF) ^(PHICH)where n_(DMRS) is mapped from the cyclic shift for DMRS field andI_(PRB_RA) is the lowest PRB index for the transmission of F-PUSCHtransmissions 918, 920. Other parameters can be specified. Depending onthe embodiment, eNB may need to assign appropriate resource and DM-RScyclic shift for F-PUSCH transmission 918, 920 for multiple UEs on S-RATin order to avoid resource collision for F-PHICH transmissions 922, 926.

In another embodiment of the invention, S-TTI index can be included inthe determination of the F-PHICH resource index, i.e., (n_(PHICH)^(group), n_(PHICH) ^(seq))=f(I_(PRB_RA), n_(DMRS), I_(S-TTI)), whereI_(S-TTI) is the S-TTI index. In one example, the F-PHICH resource indexcan be determined by:n _(PHICH) ^(group)=(I _(PRB_RA) +c ₂ ·I _(S-TTI) +n _(DMRS))modN_(PHICH) ^(group) +I _(PHICH) N _(PHICH) ^(group)n _(PHICH) ^(seq)=(└I _(PRB_RA) +c ₂ ·I _(S-TTI))/N _(PHICH) ^(group)┘+n _(DMRS))mod2N _(SF) ^(PHICH)where c₂ is a constant, which can be predefined or configured in acell-specific manner by higher layers.

In another embodiment, S-RAT index can be included in the determinationof the F-PHICH resource index, i.e., (n_(PHICH) ^(group), n_(PHICH)^(seq))=f(I_(PRB_RA), n_(DMRS), I_(S-RAT)) or (n_(PHICH) ^(group),n_(PHICH) ^(seq))=f(I_(PRB_RA), n_(DMRS), I_(S-TTI), I_(S-RAT)) whereI_(S-RAT) is the S-RAT index.

Note that similar to DL HARQ design for cross-RAT scheduling, singleF-PDCCH can be used to schedule the transmission of F-PUSCHtransmissions on S-RAT for single UE. More specifically, the S-TTIindex, resource allocation, MCS, HARQ process number and redundancyversion (RV) for the transmission of multiple F-PUSCHs on S-RAT can beaggregated to form a single F-PDCCH. Further, multiple ACK/NACKfeedbacks can be aggregated together on single F-PDCCH transmission onP-RAT.

Cross-RAT Scheduling Mechanisms in the Case When P-RAT is Scheduled byS-RAT DL HARQ for Cross-RAT and Cross-RAT-TTI Scheduling

Similar to the cross-RAT scheduling when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT,either cross-RAT or cross-RAT-TTI scheduling can apply in the case whenP-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT. To support cross-RAT or cross-RAT-TTIscheduling, the following fields may be included on top of the existingDCI format for DL assignment and uplink grant: P-RAT index (or partitionindex) and/or carrier band index for P-RAT. The P-RAT index can beprovided by higher layer via MIB, SIB or UE specific dedicated RRCsignaling. Similarly, carrier band index can be provided by higher layervia MIB, SIB or UE specific dedicated RRC signaling. Further, thestarting OFDM symbols in the transmission of F-PDSCH in P-RAT can beconfigured by higher layers, via MIB, SIB or UE specific dedicated RRCsignaling.

FIG. 10 illustrates a DL HARQ for cross-RAT scheduling 1000 when P-RATis scheduled by S-RAT using an S-RAT DL 1002, a P-RAT DL 1004 and aS-RAT UL 1006. For cross-RAT scheduling, F-PDSCH transmissions 1014,1016 on P-RAT is scheduled by F-PDCCH transmissions 1018, 1020 on S-RATwithin the same P-TTI. In addition, the gap between F-PDSCH transmission1014, 1016 on P-RAT and ACK/NACK feedback 1022, 1024 on F-PUCCH on S-RATis K_0 P-TTIs. Note that to avoid resource allocation for F-PUCCH onS-RAT, the S-TTI index used for F-PDCCH transmission 1018, 1020 on S-RATis the same as the S-TTI index for F-PUCCH transmission within the sameP-TTI. For instance, F-PDCCH transmission 1018, 1020 in S-TTI #1 andP-TTI #n schedules the F-PDSCH transmission 1014, 1016 on P-TTI #n. TheACK/NACK 1022, 1024 for this F-PDSCH transmission 1014, 1016 istransmitted on F-PUCCH in S-TTI #1 and P-TTI #(n+K_0). Note that in theexample as shown in FIG. 10, K₀=2.

Similar to the cross-RAT scheduling when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT,several options can be considered the determination of F-PUCCH resourceindex. In particular, in one embodiment, the existing PUCCH resourceindex determination rule in LTE can be reused. In another embodiment,S-TTI index and/or S-RAT index can be included on the determination ofthe F-PUCCH resource index.

Further, the same design principle for cross-RAT-TTI scheduling whenS-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT can apply for the cross-RAT-TTI schedulingwhen P-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT. In particular, the gap between F-PDCCHscheduling on S-RAT and F-PDSCH transmission on P-RAT is K₁ P-TTI.

UL HARQ for Cross-RAT Scheduling

FIG. 11 illustrates a UL HARQ for cross-RAT scheduling 1100 when P-RATis scheduled by S-RAT using an S-RAT DL 1102 and a P-RAT UL 1104. Forcross-RAT scheduling, the gap between F-PDCCH scheduling 1119, 1120 onS-RAT and F-PUSCH transmission 1114, 1115 on P-RAT is M₀ P-TTI.Subsequently, the gap between F-PUSCH transmission 1114, 1115 on P-RATand ACK/NACK feedback 1116, 1118 on F-PHICH or F-PDCCH on S-RAT is M₁P-TTI. In the case for NACK, the gap between F-PUSCH retransmission1122, 1124 and ACK/NACK feedback 1116, 1118 is M₀ P-TTI.

In the example as shown in FIG. 11, M₀=M₁=2. This indicates that F-PUSCHtransmission 1114, 1115 on P-RAT is transmitted 2 P-TTIs after F-PDCCH1119, 1120 scheduling and ACK/NACK feedback 1116, 1118 transmitted onF-PHICH on S-RAT is 2 P-TTIs after F-PUSCH transmission 1114, 1115.

Note that to avoid resource allocation for F-PHICH on S-RAT, the S-TTIindex used for F-PDCCH transmission 1119, 1120 on S-RAT is the same asthe S-TTI index for F-PHICH or F-PDCCH transmission within the sameP-TTI. For instance, F-PDCCH in S-TTI #1 and P-TTI #n schedules theF-PUSCH transmission on P-TTI #n+M_0. The ACK/NACK for this F-PUSCH istransmitted on F-PHICH in S-TTI #1 and P-TTI # (n+M₀+M₁).

Similar to the cross-RAT scheduling when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT,several options can be considered the determination of F-PHICH resourceindex. In particular, in one embodiment, the existing PHICH resourceindex determination rule in LTE can be reused. In another embodiment,S-TTI index and/or S-RAT index can be included on the determination ofthe F-PHICH resource index.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method of radio access technologycoordination. The method can be accomplished by systems such as shown inFIG. 1, including MCE 106, physical infrastructure 104, P-RAT 112 andS-RAT 114. In block 1202, the UE acquires downlink time and frequencysynchronization to a P-RAT by detecting synchronization signals. Inblock 1204, the UE decodes a master information block (MIB) from PBCHand SIBs. In block 1206, the UE obtains system information for access toS-RAT at least including the resource configuration in time andfrequency and/or numerology, and configuration of downlinksynchronization signal. In block 1208, the UE detects downlinksynchronization signal in S-RAT within a search window. The searchwindow size can be fixed or configured by higher layers (e.g., by MIB,SIB or RRC). In block 1210, the UE communicates over S-RAT.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, orinclude an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electroniccircuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory(shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software orfirmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitablehardware components that provide the described functionality. In someembodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functionsassociated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or moresoftware or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may includelogic, at least partially operable in hardware.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using anysuitably configured hardware and/or software. FIG. 13 illustrates, forone embodiment, example components of a user equipment (UE) device 1300.In some embodiments, the UE device 1300 may include an applicationcircuitry 1302, a baseband circuitry 1304, a Radio Frequency (RF)circuitry 1306, a front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1308 and one or moreantennas 1310, coupled together at least as shown.

The application circuitry 1302 may include one or more applicationprocessors. For example, the application circuitry 1302 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core ormulti-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination ofgeneral-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupledwith and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applicationsand/or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 1304 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 1304 may include one or more baseband processorsand/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receivesignal path of the RF circuitry 1306 and to generate baseband signalsfor a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1306. Baseband circuitry1304 may interface with the application circuitry 1302 for generationand processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations ofthe RF circuitry 1306. For example, in some embodiments, the basebandcircuitry 1304 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor1304 a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 1304 b, fourthgeneration (4G) baseband processor 1304 c, and/or other basebandprocessor(s) 1304 d for other existing generations, generations indevelopment or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation(5G), 6G, etc.). The baseband circuitry 1304 (e.g., one or more ofbaseband processors 1304 a-d) may handle various radio control functionsthat enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RFcircuitry 1306. The radio control functions may include, but are notlimited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radiofrequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulationcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 1304 may include Fast-FourierTransform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demappingfunctionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 1304 may include convolution, tail-bitingconvolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC)encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulationand encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples andmay include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1304 may include elements ofa protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universalterrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, forexample, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control(RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resourcecontrol (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 1304 e of thebaseband circuitry 1304 may be configured to run elements of theprotocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRClayers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1304 may include oneor more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1304 f. The audio DSP(s)1304 f may include elements for compression/decompression and echocancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in otherembodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitablycombined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a samecircuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all ofthe constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1304 and theapplication circuitry 1302 may be implemented together such as, forexample, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1304 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1304 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), awireless local area network (WLAN), or a wireless personal area network(WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1304 is configuredto support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol maybe referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

The RF circuitry 1306 may enable communication with wireless networksusing modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 1306 may include switches,filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with thewireless network. The RF circuitry 1306 may include a receive signalpath which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals receivedfrom the FEM circuitry 1308 and provide baseband signals to the basebandcircuitry 1304. The RF circuitry 1306 may also include a transmit signalpath which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals providedby the baseband circuitry 1304 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 1308 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 1306 may include a receive signalpath and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RFcircuitry 1306 may include a mixer circuitry 1306 a, an amplifiercircuitry 1306 b and a filter circuitry 1306 c. The transmit signal pathof the RF circuitry 1306 may include the filter circuitry 1306 c andmixer circuitry 1306 a. The RF circuitry 1306 may also include asynthesizer circuitry 1306 d for synthesizing a frequency for use by themixer circuitry 1306 a of the receive signal path and the transmitsignal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1306 a of thereceive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signalsreceived from the FEM circuitry 1308 based on the synthesized frequencyprovided by synthesizer circuitry 1306 d. The amplifier circuitry 1306 bmay be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filtercircuitry 1306 c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter(BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-convertedsignals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals maybe provided to the baseband circuitry 1304 for further processing. Insome embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequencybaseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 1306 a of the receive signal path maycomprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is notlimited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1306 a of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1306 d togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1308. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 1304 and may befiltered by the filter circuitry 1306 c. The filter circuitry 1306 c mayinclude a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodimentsis not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1306 a of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 1306 a of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 1306 a of the receive signal path and the mixercircuitry 1306 a of the transmit signal path may include two or moremixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley imagerejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1306 a of thereceive signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and/ordirect upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixercircuitry 1306 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1306a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyneoperation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 1306 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry1304 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 1306.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1306 d may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, the synthesizercircuitry 1306 d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequencymultiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with afrequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 1306 d may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1306 a of the RFcircuitry 1306 based on a frequency input and a divider control input.In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1306 d may be afractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1304 orthe applications circuitry 1302 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications circuitry 1302.

The synthesizer circuitry 1306 d of the RF circuitry 1306 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1306 d may be configuredto generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In someembodiments, the RF circuitry 1306 may include an IQ/polar converter.

The FEM circuitry 1308 may include a receive signal path which mayinclude circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from oneor more antennas 1310, amplify the received signals and provide theamplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1306 forfurther processing. The FEM circuitry 1308 may also include a transmitsignal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signalsfor transmission provided by the RF circuitry 1306 for transmission byone or more of the one or more antennas 1310.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1308 may include a TX/RX switchto switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry 1308 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signalpath. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 1308 may include alow-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide theamplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry1306). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1308 may include apower amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RFcircuitry 1306), and one or more filters to generate RF signals forsubsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or moreantennas 1310).

In some embodiments, the UE device 1300 may include additional elementssuch as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/orinput/output (I/O) interface.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a computing system 1400 consistentwith embodiments disclosed herein. The computing system 1400 can beviewed as an information passing bus that connects various components.In the embodiment shown, the computing system 1400 includes a processor1402 having logic 1402 for processing instructions. Instructions can bestored in and/or retrieved from a memory 1406 and a storage device 1408that includes a computer-readable storage medium. Instructions and/ordata can arrive from a network interface 1410 that can include wired1414 or wireless 1412 capabilities. Instructions and/or data can alsocome from an I/O interface 1416 that can include such things asexpansion cards, secondary buses (e.g., USB, etc.), devices, etc. A usercan interact with the computing system 1400 though user interfacedevices 1418 and a rendering system 1404 that allows the computer toreceive and provide feedback to the user.

EXAMPLES

The following examples pertain to further embodiments.

Example 1 is a user equipment (UE) comprising one or more wirelesstransceivers and circuitry. The one or more wireless transceivers areconfigured to communicate using a first radio access technology (RAT)and a second RAT, wherein the first RAT and second RAT are serviced byone or more enhanced node Bs (eNBs). The circuitry is configured toreceive from one of the one or more eNBs scheduling information for thesecond RAT using the first RAT. The circuitry is further configured toreceive or transmit a message according to the scheduling informationusing the second RAT.

In Example 2, the first RAT and the second RAT of Example 1 canoptionally use a same radio access technology.

In Example 3, the first RAT and the second RAT of Example 1 canoptionally use different radio access technologies.

In Example 4, the UE in Examples 1-3 can optionally have the first RATbe a primary RAT (P-RAT), the second RAT be a secondary RAT (S-RAT) andthe P-RAT provide scheduling information for the S-RAT.

In Example 5, the UE in Examples 1-4 can optionally transmit flexibleaccess technology physical downlink shared channel (F-PDSCH) on S-RATwithin the same P-RAT transmission time interval (P-TTI) when flexibleaccess technology physical downlink control channel (F-PDCCH) istransmitted on P-RAT.

In Example 6, the UE of Examples 1-5 can optionally transmit flexibleaccess technology physical downlink shared channel (F-PDSCH) on S-RATafter an integer number of P-RAT transmission time intervals (P-TTIs)when flexible access technology physical downlink control channel(F-PDCCH) is transmitted on P-RAT.

In Example 7, the UE of Examples 1-6 can optionally transmit schedulinginformation that further comprises downlink control information thatincludes downlink assignment and uplink grant information, the downlinkassignment and uplink grant information further comprising S-RAT index,carrier band index for S-RAT and transmission time interval (TTI) indexin S-RAT.

In Example 8, the UE in Examples 1-7 can optionally have the first RATbe a secondary RAT (S-RAT), the second RAT be a primary RAT (P-RAT) andthe S-RAT provide scheduling information for the P-RAT.

In Example 10, the UE of Examples 1-9 can optionally have circuitryconfigured to receive or transmit a message according to the schedulinginformation using the second RAT further comprises to transmit themessage using the second RAT and receive a response, using the firstRAT, indicating whether the message was successfully received by the oneor more eNBs using the second RAT.

In Example 11, the UE of Examples 1-9 can optionally include circuitryfor receiving acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK)feedback using the first RAT flexible access technology physical uplinkcontrol channel (F-PUCCH); and wherein a timing gap between flexibleaccess technology physical downlink shared channel (F-PDSCH) on thesecond RAT and flexible access technology physical uplink controlchannel (F-PUCCH) on the first RAT is an integer number of transmissiontime intervals (TTIs) of the first RAT.

In Example 12, the UE of Examples 1-11 can optionally include circuitryfor receiving the message using the second RAT and transmit a response,using the first RAT, indicating whether the message was successfullyreceived by the one or more eNBs using the second RAT.

In Example 13, the UE of Examples 1-11 can optionally include circuitryfor determining downlink time and frequency synchronization to the firstRAT, decoding a master information block (MIB) and system informationblock (SIB) to determine access information for the second RAT anddetect a downlink synchronization signal within a search window of thesecond RAT.

In Example 14, the search window of Example 13 can optionally be fixed.

In Example 15, a configuration of the search window of Example 13 canoptionally be provided by the MIB, SIB or radio resource control (RRC)signaling.

Example 16 is a computer program product comprising a computer-readablestorage medium storing program code for causing one or more processorsto perform a method. The method includes transmitting schedulinginformation using a first radio access technology (RAT) partition for asecond RAT partition; and receiving from a user equipment (UE) ortransmit to a UE a message according to the scheduling information usingthe second RAT partition.

In Example 17, the first RAT partition and the second RAT partition ofExample 16 can optionally use a same radio access technology.

In Example 18, the first RAT partition and the second RAT partition ofExample 16 can optionally use different radio access technologies.

In Example 19, the scheduling information of Example 16 can optionallycomprise resource configuration in time and frequency for the second RATpartition, downlink (DL) bandwidth; antenna configuration information;multicast-broadcast single-frequency network (MBSFN) configuration,frame structure configuration, absolute radio-frequency channel number(ARFCN) value, numerology for the second RAT partition, or configurationof a downlink synchronization signal.

In Example 20, the transmitting of scheduling information of Example 16can optionally comprise configuring, via master information block (MIB),system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC)signaling, starting orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)symbols in the transmission of flexible access technology physicaldownlink share channel (F-PDSCH) using the second RAT partition.

In Example 21, the method of Examples 16-20 can optionally includeindicating, using the first RAT partition, whether the message wassuccessfully received using the second RAT partition.

In Example 22, the method of Example 21 is optionally includestransmitting acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK)feedback using the first RAT partition flexible access technologyphysical uplink control channel (F-PUCCH), wherein a timing gap betweenflexible access technology physical downlink shared channel (F-PDSCH) onthe second RAT partition and flexible access technology physical uplinkcontrol channel (F-PUCCH) on the first RAT partition is an integernumber of transmission time intervals (TTIs) of the first RAT partition.

In Example 23, the method of Examples 16-22 can optionally includedetermining the second RAT transmission time interval (TTI) index andthe flexible access technology physical uplink control channel(F-PUCCH).

In Example 24, the method of Examples 16-23 can optionally includedetermining the second RAT index and the flexible access technologyphysical uplink control channel (F-PUCCH).

In Example 25, the method of Examples 16-23 can optionally include usinga flexible access technology physical downlink control channel (F-PDCCH)transmission to schedule multiple flexible access technology physicaldownlink shared channel (F-PDSCH) transmissions on the second RAT forthe UE.

In Example 26, the method of Example 25 can optionally includeaggregating an S-TTI index, resource allocation, modulation and codingscheme (MCS), hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number andredundancy version (RV) for the transmission of multiple F-PDSCHs onS-RAT.

In Example 27, the method of Examples 16-26 can optionally includescheduling a flexible access technology physical downlink controlchannel (F-PDCCH) transmission; scheduling a flexible access technologyphysical downlink shared channel (F-PDSCH) transmission in an integernumber of first RAT transmission time intervals (TTIs) after the F-PDCCHtransmission; and scheduling an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement(ACK/NACK) feedback using a flexible access technology physical uplinkcontrol channel (F-PUCCH) transmission in an integer number of first RATtransmission time intervals (TTIs) after the F-PDSCH transmission.

In Example 28, the method in Examples 16-27 can optionally includescheduling a first timing gap between a flexible access technologyphysical downlink control channel (F-PDCCH) transmission using the firstRAT partition and a flexible access technology physical uplink sharedchannel (F-PUSCH) transmission using the second RAT partition, the firsttiming gap being a first integer of first RAT TTIs. The method canfurther optionally include scheduling a second timing gap between theF-PUSCH transmission using the second RAT partition and anacknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) feedback using theflexible access technology physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel(F-PHICH) or F-PDCCH, the second timing gap being a second integer offirst RAT TTIs. When a NACK feedback is transmitted, the method can alsooptionally include scheduling a third timing gap between the F-PHICHtransmission or F-PDCCH transmission and a F-PUSCH retransmission, thethird timing gap equal to the first timing gap.

Example 29 is a wireless device configured to determine downlink timeand frequency synchronization information for a primary radio accesstechnology (P-RAT) provided by one or more base stations. The wirelessdevice can also be configured to decode access information data providedby the one or more base stations using the P-RAT for a secondary radioaccess technology (S-RAT). The wireless device can further be configuredto detect downlink synchronization signal using the S-RAT within asearch window provided by the one or more base stations; and transmit orreceive data using the S-RAT to the one or more base stations based atleast in part on the access information from the P-RAT.

In Example 30, the wireless device in Example 29 can optionally beconfigured such that a flexible access technology physical downlinkshared channel (F-PDSCH) transmission on S-RAT is transmitted within thesame P-RAT transmission time interval (P-TTI) when a flexible accesstechnology physical downlink control channel (F-PDCCH) transmission istransmitted on P-RAT

In Example 31, the wireless device in Example 29 can optionally beconfigured such that a flexible access technology physical downlinkshared channel (F-PDSCH) transmission on S-RAT is transmitted after aninteger number of P-RAT transmission time intervals (P-TTIs) when aflexible access technology physical downlink control channel (F-PDCCH)transmission is transmitted on P-RAT.

In Example 32, the scheduling information in Example 29 can optionallyinclude downlink control information that includes downlink assignmentand uplink grant information, the downlink assignment and uplink grantinformation further comprising S-RAT index, carrier band index for S-RATand transmission time interval (TTI) index in S-RAT.

Example 33 is an enhanced node B (eNB) configured to transmit, using afirst fifth generation (5G) wireless network partition, downlinkscheduling information for a user equipment (UE) to receive a messageusing a second 5G network partition; transmit the message using thesecond 5G network partition based at least in part on the downlinkscheduling information; and receive a message indicating whether themessage was successfully received by the UE.

In Example 34, the eNB of Example 33 can optionally be configured suchthat the first 5G wireless network partition and second 5G wirelessnetwork partition use different RATs.

In Example 35, the eNB of Example 34 can optionally be configured suchthat the first 5G wireless network partition and second 5G wirelessnetwork partition use a same RAT.

In Example 36, the scheduling information of Examples 33-35 canoptionally include resource configuration in time and frequency for thesecond 5G wireless network partition, downlink (DL) bandwidth, antennaconfiguration information, multicast-broadcast single-frequency network(MBSFN) configuration, frame structure configuration, absoluteradio-frequency channel number (ARFCN) value, numerology for the second5G wireless network partition, or configuration of a downlinksynchronization signal.

In Example 37, the eNB of Examples 33-35 can optionally be configured toconfigure, via master information block (MIB), system information block(SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling, starting orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in the transmission offlexible access Technology physical downlink share channel (F-PDSCH)using the second 5G wireless network partition.

In Example 38, the eNB of Examples 33-37 can optionally be configured toindicate, using the first 5G wireless network partition, whether themessage was successfully received using the second 5G wireless networkpartition.

In Example 39, the eNB of Examples 33-38 can optionally be configured totransmit acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) feedbackusing the first 5G wireless network partition flexible access technologyphysical uplink control channel (F-PUCCH), wherein a timing gap betweenflexible access technology physical downlink shared channel (F-PDSCH) onthe second 5G wireless network partition and flexible access technologyphysical uplink control channel (F-PUCCH) on the first 5G wirelessnetwork partition is an integer number of transmission time intervals(TTIs) of the first 5G wireless network partition.

In Example 40, the eNB of Examples 33-39 can optionally be configured todetermine the second 5G wireless network transmission time interval(TTI) index and the flexible access technology physical uplink controlchannel (F-PUCCH).

In Example 41, the eNB of Examples 33-40 can optionally be configured todetermine the second 5G wireless network index and the flexible accesstechnology physical uplink control channel (F-PUCCH).

In Example 42, the eNB of Examples 33-41 can optionally be configured todetermine the second 5G wireless network index and the flexible accesstechnology physical uplink control channel (F-PUCCH).

In Example 43, the eNB of Examples 33-43 can optionally be configured toaggregate an S-TTI index, resource allocation, modulation and codingscheme (MCS), hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number andredundancy version (RV) for the transmission of multiple F-PDSCHs onS-RAT.

In Example 44, the eNB of Examples 33-44 can optionally be configured toschedule a flexible access technology physical downlink control channel(F-PDCCH) transmission; schedule a flexible access technology physicaldownlink shared channel (F-PDSCH) transmission in an integer number offirst 5G wireless network transmission time intervals (TTIs) after theF-PDCCH transmission; and schedule an acknowledgement/negativeacknowledgement (ACK/NACK) feedback using a flexible access technologyphysical uplink control channel (F-PUCCH) transmission in an integernumber of first 5G wireless network transmission time intervals (TTIs)after the F-PDSCH transmission.

In Example 44, the eNB of Examples 33-44 can optionally be configured toschedule a first timing gap between a flexible access technologyphysical downlink control channel (F-PDCCH) transmission using the first5G wireless network partition and a flexible access technology physicaluplink shared channel (F-PUSCH) transmission using the second 5Gwireless network partition, the first timing gap being a first integerof first 5G wireless network TTIs. The eNB can also optionally beconfigured to schedule a second timing gap between the F-PUSCHtransmission using the second 5G wireless network partition and anacknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) feedback using theflexible access technology physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel(F-PHICH) or F-PDCCH, the second timing gap being a second integer offirst 5G wireless network TTIs. When a NACK feedback is transmitted, theeNB can also optionally be configured to schedule a third timing gapbetween the F-PHICH transmission or F-PDCCH transmission and a F-PUSCHretransmission, the third timing gap equal to the first timing gap.

ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES

Additional Example 1 is a system and method of wireless communicationfor multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) coordination for 5G, comprisinga method for UEs to access to secondary RAT; a mechanism for cross-RATscheduling when S-RAT is scheduled by primary RAT (P-RAT); and amechanism for cross-RAT scheduling when P-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT.

Additional Example 2 is a method of Additional Example 1, wherein UEacquires the downlink time and frequency synchronization to a P-RAT anddecodes the master information block (MIB) from PBCH and systeminformation block (SIBs). wherein UE obtains the necessary systeminformation for access to S-RAT from P-RAT via SIB or UE dedicated RRCsignaling. wherein UE detects downlink synchronization signal in S-RATwithin a search window which size is either fixed in spec or configuredby higher layers.

Additional Example 3 is a method of Additional Example 2, wherein thesystem information for access to S-RAT includes at least resourceconfiguration in time and frequency for S-RAT; DL bandwidth; antennaconfiguration information; MBSFN configuration; frame structureconfiguration, ARFCN value to indicate the frequency of S-RAT;numerology for S-RAT, and configuration of downlink synchronizationsignal, i.e., physical cell identity and/or transmission offset betweenP-RAT and S-RAT.

Additional Example 4 is a method of Additional Example 1, whereincross-RAT scheduling and/or cross-RAT-TTI scheduling are defined whenS-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT in the downlink.

Additional Example 5 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein forcross-RAT/cross-partition/cross-carrier or cross-RATcross-partition/cross-carrier/cross-TTI scheduling, DCI format fordownlink assignment and uplink grant includes at least S-RAT index orpartition index; Carrier band index for S-RAT; TTI index in S-RAT.

Additional Example 6 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein thestarting OFDM symbols in the transmission of Flexible Access Technology(FAT)-physical downlink share channel (FPDSCH) F-PDSCH in S-RAT can beconfigured by higher layers, via MIB, SIB or UE specific dedicated RRCsignaling.

Additional Example 7 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein forcross-RAT scheduling, ACK/NACK feedback is transmitted on F-PUCCH onP-RAT.

Wherein the gap between F-PDSCH on S-RAT and F-PUCCH on P-RAT is L P-RATTTI (P-TTI).

Additional Example 8 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein theexisting LTE PUCCH resource index determination rule in LTE is reused todetermine F-PUCCH resource index.

Additional Example 9 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein S-TTIindex is included in the determination of the F-PUCCH resource index.

Additional Example 10 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein S-RATindex can be included in the determination of the F-PUCCH resourceindex.

Additional Example 11 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein oneof fields in DCI format of the corresponding F-PDCCH can be used todynamically determine the F-PUCCH resources value from values configuredby higher layers with a predefined mapping rule.

Additional Example 12 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein asingle F-PDCCH on P-RAT can be used to schedule multiple F-PDSCHtransmissions on S-RAT for single UE. Wherein S-TTI index, resourceallocation, MCS, HARQ process number and redundancy version (RV) for thetransmission of multiple F-PDSCHs on S-RAT is aggregated to form asingle F-PDCCH. Wherein multiple ACK/NACK feedbacks can be aggregatedtogether on single F-PUCCH transmission.

Additional Example 13 is a method of Additional Example 4, wherein forcross-RAT-TTI scheduling, F-PDCCH in P-TTI #n schedules the F-PDSCH inP-TTI #(n+K). wherein the ACK/NACK feedback is transmitted on F-PUCCH onP-RAT on P-TTI # (n+K+L).

Additional Example 14 is a method of Additional Example 1, whereincross-RAT scheduling is defined when S-RAT is scheduled by P-RAT in theuplink.

Additional Example 15 is a method of Additional Example 14, wherein thegap between F-PDCCH scheduling on P-RAT and F-PUSCH transmission onS-RAT is K₀ P-TTI, Wherein the gap between F-PUSCH transmission on S-RATand ACK/NACK feedback on F-PHICH or F-PDCCH on P-RAT is K₁ P-TTI.Wherein in the case for NACK, the gap between F-PUSCH retransmission andACK/NACK feedback is K₀ P-TTI.

Additional Example 16 is a method of Additional Example 14, wherein theexisting PHICH resource index determination rule in LTE is reused toderive the F-PHICH resource index.

Additional Example 17 is a method of Additional Example 14, whereinS-TTI index is included in the determination of the F-PHICH resourceindex.

Additional Example 18 is a method of Additional Example 14, whereinS-RAT index is included in the determination of the F-PHICH resourceindex.

Additional Example 19 is a method of Additional Example 14, whereinsingle F-PDCCH can be used to schedule the transmission of F-PUSCHtransmissions on S-RAT for single UE.

Additional Example 20 is a method of Additional Example 1, whereineither cross-RAT and/or cross-RAT-TTI scheduling are defined in the casewhen P-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT in the downlink.

Additional Example 21 is a method of Additional Example 20, wherein DCIformat for downlink assignment and uplink grant includes at least P-RATindex or partition index; carrier band index for P-RAT.

Additional Example 22 is a method of Additional Example 20, wherein forcross-RAT scheduling, F-PDSCH on P-RAT is scheduled by F-PDCCH on S-RATwithin the same P-TTI; Wherein the gap between F-PDSCH transmission onP-RAT and ACK/NACK feedback on F-PUCCH on S-RAT is K₀ P-TTIs.

Additional Example 23 is a method of Additional Example 1, whereincross-RAT is defined in the case when P-RAT is scheduled by S-RAT in theuplink.

Additional Example 24 is a method of Additional Example 23, wherein forcross-RAT scheduling, the gap between F-PDCCH scheduling on S-RAT andF-PUSCH transmission on P-RAT is M₀ P-TTI; wherein the gap betweenF-PUSCH transmission on P-RAT and ACK/NACK feedback on F-PHICH orF-PDCCH on S-RAT is M₁ P-TTI. Wherein in the case for NACK, the gapbetween F-PUSCH retransmission and ACK/NACK feedback is M₀ P-TTI.

Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods describedherein may include various operations, which may be embodied inmachine-executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. Acomputer system may include one or more general-purpose orspecial-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). The computersystem may include hardware components that include specific logic forperforming the operations or may include a combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware.

Computer systems and the computers in a computer system may be connectedvia a network. Suitable networks for configuration and/or use asdescribed herein include one or more local area networks, wide areanetworks, metropolitan area networks, and/or Internet or IP networks,such as the World Wide Web, a private Internet, a secure Internet, avalue-added network, a virtual private network, an extranet, anintranet, or even stand-alone machines which communicate with othermachines by physical transport of media. In particular, a suitablenetwork may be formed from parts or entireties of two or more othernetworks, including networks using disparate hardware and networkcommunication technologies.

One suitable network includes a server and one or more clients; othersuitable networks may contain other combinations of servers, clients,and/or peer-to-peer nodes, and a given computer system may function bothas a client and as a server. Each network includes at least twocomputers or computer systems, such as the server and/or clients. Acomputer system may include a workstation, laptop computer,disconnectable mobile computer, server, mainframe, cluster, so-called“network computer” or “thin client,” tablet, smart phone, personaldigital assistant or other hand-held computing device, “smart” consumerelectronics device or appliance, medical device, or a combinationthereof.

Suitable networks may include communications or networking software,such as the software available from Novell®, Microsoft®, and othervendors, and may operate using TCP/IP, SPX, IPX, and other protocolsover twisted pair, coaxial, or optical fiber cables, telephone lines,radio waves, satellites, microwave relays, modulated AC power lines,physical media transfer, and/or other data transmission “wires” known tothose of skill in the art. The network may encompass smaller networksand/or be connectable to other networks through a gateway or similarmechanism.

Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take theform of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media,such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, magnetic or opticalcards, solid-state memory devices, a nontransitory computer-readablestorage medium, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein,when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such asa computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the varioustechniques. In the case of program code execution on programmablecomputers, the computing device may include a processor, a storagemedium readable by the processor (including volatile and nonvolatilememory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at leastone output device. The volatile and nonvolatile memory and/or storageelements may be a RAM, an EPROM, a flash drive, an optical drive, amagnetic hard drive, or other medium for storing electronic data. TheeNB (or other base station) and UE (or other mobile station) may alsoinclude a transceiver component, a counter component, a processingcomponent, and/or a clock component or timer component. One or moreprograms that may implement or utilize the various techniques describedherein may use an application programming interface (API), reusablecontrols, and the like. Such programs may be implemented in a high-levelprocedural or an object-oriented programming language to communicatewith a computer system. However, the program(s) may be implemented inassembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language maybe a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardwareimplementations.

Each computer system includes one or more processors and/or memory;computer systems may also include various input devices and/or outputdevices. The processor may include a general purpose device, such as anIntel®, AMD®, or other “off-the-shelf” microprocessor. The processor mayinclude a special purpose processing device, such as ASIC, SoC, SiP,FPGA, PAL, PLA, FPLA, PLD, or other customized or programmable device.The memory may include static RAM, dynamic RAM, flash memory, one ormore flip-flops, ROM, CD-ROM, DVD, disk, tape, or magnetic, optical, orother computer storage medium. The input device(s) may include akeyboard, mouse, touch screen, light pen, tablet, microphone, sensor, orother hardware with accompanying firmware and/or software. The outputdevice(s) may include a monitor or other display, printer, speech ortext synthesizer, switch, signal line, or other hardware withaccompanying firmware and/or software.

It should be understood that many of the functional units described inthis specification may be implemented as one or more components, whichis a term used to more particularly emphasize their implementationindependence. For example, a component may be implemented as a hardwarecircuit comprising custom very large scale integration (VLSI) circuitsor gate arrays, or off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips,transistors, or other discrete components. A component may also beimplemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmablegate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, orthe like.

Components may also be implemented in software for execution by varioustypes of processors. An identified component of executable code may, forinstance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computerinstructions, which may, for instance, be organized as an object, aprocedure, or a function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identifiedcomponent need not be physically located together, but may comprisedisparate instructions stored in different locations that, when joinedlogically together, comprise the component and achieve the statedpurpose for the component.

Indeed, a component of executable code may be a single instruction, ormany instructions, and may even be distributed over several differentcode segments, among different programs, and across several memorydevices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustratedherein within components, and may be embodied in any suitable form andorganized within any suitable type of data structure. The operationaldata may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed overdifferent locations including over different storage devices, and mayexist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system ornetwork. The components may be passive or active, including agentsoperable to perform desired functions.

Several aspects of the embodiments described will be illustrated assoftware modules or components. As used herein, a software module orcomponent may include any type of computer instruction orcomputer-executable code located within a memory device. A softwaremodule may, for instance, include one or more physical or logical blocksof computer instructions, which may be organized as a routine, program,object, component, data structure, etc., that perform one or more tasksor implement particular data types. It is appreciated that a softwaremodule may be implemented in hardware and/or firmware instead of or inaddition to software. One or more of the functional modules describedherein may be separated into sub-modules and/or combined into a singleor smaller number of modules.

In certain embodiments, a particular software module may includedisparate instructions stored in different locations of a memory device,different memory devices, or different computers, which togetherimplement the described functionality of the module. Indeed, a modulemay include a single instruction or many instructions, and may bedistributed over several different code segments, among differentprograms, and across several memory devices. Some embodiments may bepracticed in a distributed computing environment where tasks areperformed by a remote processing device linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed computing environment, software modules may belocated in local and/or remote memory storage devices. In addition, databeing tied or rendered together in a database record may be resident inthe same memory device, or across several memory devices, and may belinked together in fields of a record in a database across a network.

Reference throughout this specification to “an example” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the example is included in at least one embodiment of the presentinvention. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in an example” in variousplaces throughout this specification are not necessarily all referringto the same embodiment.

As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositionalelements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list forconvenience. However, these lists should be construed as though eachmember of the list is individually identified as a separate and uniquemember. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as ade facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based onits presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary.In addition, various embodiments and examples of the present inventionmay be referred to herein along with alternatives for the variouscomponents thereof. It is understood that such embodiments, examples,and alternatives are not to be construed as de facto equivalents of oneanother, but are to be considered as separate and autonomousrepresentations of the present invention.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are provided, such asexamples of materials, frequencies, sizes, lengths, widths, shapes,etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of theinvention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, thatthe invention may be practiced without one or more of the specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In otherinstances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shownor described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

It should be recognized that the systems described herein includedescriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments can be combinedinto single systems, partially combined into other systems, split intomultiple systems or divided or combined in other ways. In addition, itis contemplated that parameters/attributes/aspects/etc. of oneembodiment can be used in another embodiment. Theparameters/attributes/aspects/etc. are merely described in one or moreembodiments for clarity, and it is recognized that theparameters/attributes/aspects/etc. can be combined with or substitutedfor parameters/attributes/etc. of another embodiment unless specificallydisclaimed herein.

Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for purposes ofclarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the principles thereof. It should benoted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both theprocesses and apparatuses described herein. Accordingly, the presentembodiments are to be considered illustrative and not restrictive, andthe invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but maybe modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Those having skill in the art will appreciate that many changes may bemade to the details of the above-described embodiments without departingfrom the underlying principles of the invention. The scope of thepresent invention should, therefore, be determined only by the followingclaims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE),comprising: a memory interface to send or receive, to or from a memorydevice, a value of an indicator field; and one or more processors to:decode a downlink control information (DCI) format to determine thevalue of the indicator field; use the value of the indicator field fromthe DCI format to determine a location of hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) information in a physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH); and generate the PUCCH with the HARQ ACKinformation in the location determined from the value of the indicatorfield in the DCI format.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theindicator field comprises a transmission time interval (TTI) index fieldin the DCI format.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the DCI formatfurther includes a partition index.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, whereinthe one or more processors are further to determine, based on thepartition index, resources for uplink (UL) transmissions or downlink(DL) receptions.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the DCI formatfurther includes a carrier indication.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5,wherein the one or more processors are further to, based on the carrierindication, configure downlink communication.
 7. The apparatus of claim5, wherein the carrier indication comprises a carrier band index.
 8. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableinstructions stored thereon, the computer-readable instructions to, whenexecuted, instruct a processor of a user equipment (UE) to: decode adownlink control information (DCI) format to determine a partition indexvalue; and determine, based on the partition index value, resources foruplink (UL) transmissions or downlink (DL) receptions.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein theDCI format further includes a carrier indication.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructionsare further to, based on the carrier indication, configure downlinkcommunication.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumof claim 9, wherein the carrier indication comprises a carrier bandindex.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim8, wherein the DCI format further includes a value of an indicatorfield.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim12, wherein the instructions are further to, based on the value of anindicator field, determine a location of hybrid automatic repeat request(HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK) information in a physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH).
 14. An apparatus for a user equipment, the apparatuscomprising: means to determine, from a downlink control information(DCI) format, a carrier field and a partition index value; and means todetermine, based on the partition index value, resources for uplink (UL)transmissions or downlink (DL) receptions.
 15. The apparatus of claim14, further comprising means to, based on the carrier indication,configure downlink communication.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, furthercomprising means to determine, from the DCI format, a value of anindicator field.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising meansto use the value of the indicator field from the DCI format to determinea location of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement(ACK) information in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).